Coverage for Farm Workers: Required (with limitations)

Limitations: The only agricultural employers that must provide workers' compensation are those with 10 or more full-time employees for 13 weeks during the calendar year (the weeks do not have to be consecutive). Employers who are not required to provide coverage may elect to do so. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-106(6)(2).

Statute: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-106(2)(c)-(d) (2011)

Coverage for Undocumented Workers: Yes

Case Law: Vasquez v. J.F. O'Neill Packing Co., 2003 WL 21919673 (Neb. Work. Comp. Ct. 2003) (finding illegal aliens constitute "employees" under workers' comp statute); Ortiz v. Chief Indus., Inc., 2002 WL 31771099 (Neb. Work. Comp. Ct 2002) (finding that definition of "employee" does not differentiate between alien (legal or otherwise) and citizen workers”, and that violation of a statute does not affect a compensation claim unless the illegal conduct caused the injury).

Benefits Available for Undocumented Workers: While refraining from deciding whether undocumented worker is a covered employee (because neither party raised the issue), the Nebraska Supreme Court held that undocumented workers are not eligible for vocational rehabilitation services. Ortiz v. Chief Indus., Inc., 708 N.W.2d 610, 613 (Neb. 2005). The Ortiz court accepted that undocumented workers were eligible for some (unnamed) workers' compensation benefits.